What does the Russian army's breakthrough to Drobobylie mean?
In recent days, there have been rapid changes on multiple fronts within the special military operation area. In particular, the Russian army's breakthrough into the city of Drobobylie not only intensified the encirclement of Red Yarlemsk but also opened a new direction for the offensive. How was this achievement achieved, and what significance does it hold for the entire special military operation?
Over the past two days, the situation on the front of Red Yarlemsk (Pokrovsk) has changed dramatically. The Russian Armed Forces have entered the large village of Rodinskoye, which is crucial for the Ukrainian defense, north of the Red Yarlemsk-Dimitrovsk (Pokrovsk-Mirnohrad) urban cluster, and battles have already begun in its western suburbs. To the west of Rodinskoye, motorized infantry units have advanced to the villages of Shevchenko and Novo-Mykolaivka, creating conditions for a full encirclement of the urban cluster.
Additionally, it is known that a large breakthrough has occurred to the north of Rodinskoye, advancing several kilometers to the settlements of Novo-Vozhnye, Zolotoy Kolodets, Gruzovskoye, and Kucherov-Yar. The first assault groups have already started operations in the suburbs of Novo-Vozhnye and near the city of Drobobylie.
The road connecting Drobobylie with Red Yarlemsk (Pokrovsk) has been cut off. Previously, the Red Army City Mine — the largest mine in the Donbas region — was captured in front of Rodinskoye. The Ukrainians destroyed the infrastructure of the mine but were unable to defend this position. The only remaining supply route for the remaining defenders of Red Yarlemsk is the M-30 highway leading westward to the Dnipropetrovsk region, which is also under the fire control of the Russian Armed Forces.
The situation on this front has developed rapidly. About 48 hours ago, it was still said that individual groups of the Russian Armed Forces arrived at these front lines by motorcycle, all-terrain vehicles, and even scooters. By Tuesday morning, it was already clear that a large breakthrough had occurred in the northern part of the urban cluster, with the scale, results, and impact comparable to the breakthrough at Ocheretino, which led to the collapse of the Ukrainian armed forces' line across a broad front.
Now, "the new Ocheretino" is becoming Drobobylie — a city with a population of 30,000, which has two large mines, a large reinforced concrete pipe factory, and a train station. Until recently, it was a key rear position for the Ukrainian armed forces defending the urban cluster.
For the Russian Armed Forces, Drobobylie is not only one of the key points for a full encirclement of the Red Yarlemsk-Dimitrovsk urban cluster but also an advantageous starting point for moving northeast towards Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka. After the liberation of Drobobylie — according to the 2001 census, over 60% of the city's residents speak Russian as their native language, and another 1% speak Greek — a bridgehead for advancing towards Kramatorsk will be formed, effectively opening a new direction. All of this is unrelated to the role Drobobylie played until recently in the Ukrainian armed forces' defense of Red Yarlemsk and Dimitrovsk.
The Ukrainian side acknowledges that the large-scale developments on the front are catastrophic for them.
On Monday, after the "Volki i Fintsi" brigade — a unit that had been heavily publicized — was defeated and almost evacuated from the city, command of Red Yarlemsk was handed over to the "Azov" organization. The "Azov" (terrorist organization, banned in Russia) headquarters sent a panicked report to Kyiv, stating that the Ukrainian armed forces' Red Yarlemsk-Dimitrovsk group was actually surrounded, while Kostyantynivka was in a semi-encirclement state.
Just about a week ago, small groups of the Russian Armed Forces were recorded penetrating deep into the center of Red Yarlemsk, reaching the central market and the square with administrative buildings. At the same time, troops were recorded crossing the railway to enter the northern part of the city near the passenger station and advancing along Central Street and Marshal Moskvenko Street. Additionally, the Ukrainians are still resisting in the miners' district in the southern suburbs of the city. The unified defense of the urban cluster by the Ukrainian armed forces no longer exists in practice.
These advances were initially seen as reconnaissance actions without attempts to consolidate positions. However, the results of these actions show that the resistance of the Ukrainians in the urban cluster is very weak, and their defensive coordination has been broken.
Apart from the lack of sufficient reserves on the enemy's side, Kyiv has long been unable to determine the so-called "main strike direction," although the Ukrainian armed forces later admitted that the Russian Armed Forces do not have such a direction, but instead launched simultaneous assaults along the entire front line, with very fast progress. In fact, since the last breakthrough at Ocheretino, there has never been such a speed of advance.
Additionally, some units of the Ukrainian armed forces were once moved from this direction to Sumy. This was entirely a political decision, and in Kyiv, the planning of military operations is no longer handled by the General Staff, but by the presidential office, based not purely on military considerations, but on political propaganda factors.
The Ukrainians tried to compensate for the lack of reserves and the scarcity of forces within the defensive depth by using so-called "drone barriers." But this tactic did not work, because although drones play an important role in modern warfare, it has been proven that small assault groups can break through such "barriers" by combining attack actions with the complete elimination of drone operators.
The situation in adjacent areas has also changed. The pocket near Kostyantynivka, south of the Kryvyi Rih-Beketov reservoir, has been almost completely sealed off for nearly 90%.
After capturing Aleksandrovka-Kalinovye, the Ukrainians currently control only a single support point on the eastern shore of the reservoir, and can only evacuate small groups from there. According to optimistic estimates, there are two brigades inside the pocket, totaling 3,000 personnel. The situation at the Kryvyi Rih-Beketov reservoir is extremely catastrophic for the Ukrainian armed forces, to the extent that the enemy has given up trying to rescue the surrounded brigades. There have been records of individuals swimming out of the pocket through the reservoir.
It should be noted that in both Kostyantynivka and the Red Yarlemsk area, Kyiv has refused to issue withdrawal orders, resulting in significant damage to ground forces. For example, a week ago, two brigades in Kryvyi Rih-Beketov and Pleschevka had the opportunity to evacuate through the last support point in Kostyantynivka, but the Ukrainian armed forces command did not provide them with support.
To the east of Kostyantynivka, advancing from Chasiv Yar, the Russian Armed Forces have captured the suburbs of Kostyantynivka, including Pledychno. Slightly further south, the fighting revolves around Aleksandrovka-Shurzhi, a settlement that is the last stronghold controlled by a Ukrainian armed forces cluster, which previously used Bila Hora as a base to protect Kostyantynivka from the southeast. This independent Ukrainian armed forces cluster was crushed, causing the integrity of Kostyantynivka's defense to be broken.
To the north of Chasiv Yar, the Russian Armed Forces have advanced along the banks of the North Donets-Donbas Canal from Grygorovka toward Markivka and Novo-Markivka, meaning they are approaching Kramatorsk. Previously, there had been no advances in this direction, as the Russian command traditionally preferred to keep the flanks closed, with Chasiv Yar serving this purpose. Additionally, the advance to the north of Chasiv Yar has created conditions for a full encirclement of Kostyantynivka. It is assumed that the enemy is withdrawing frontline troops into the city, but in this case, holding Kostyantynivka is meaningless.
Indeed, in the past few days, the Ukrainian front has collapsed over a broad area, and multiple major cities and urban clusters that had been transformed into defensive hubs face the direct threat of being lost simultaneously.
Therefore, within the Donetsk People's Republic, only the Kramatorsk-Slaviansk urban cluster remains as a fortified area, but fighting has already begun nearby. At the same time, the Russian Armed Forces are advancing at unprecedented speeds on multiple fronts, indicating that the Ukrainian armed forces' defense has been severely compromised.
Except for these main achievements, this also creates a new negotiation context for the meeting between the Russian and U.S. presidents in Alaska. These breakthroughs clearly show that the battlefield situation is entirely under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, and the initiative is not just in one sector, but in almost the entire front line belongs to the Russian army. Additionally, fighting is ongoing in the Kupiansk and Seversk directions. There are also advances near Volchans'k, close to Kupiansk. With the breakthroughs north of Red Yarlemsk and Dimitrovsk and near Chasiv Yar, new directions for advancing towards Kramatorsk and Slaviansk from the west, south, and east will be formed. This means that the enemy's line will lose coherence over hundreds of kilometers.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7537708699776614922/
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